Why am I finding the acronym THD/CBNA on my credit report?

If you are wondering why this acronym is showing up on your credit report, you may want to take a look into your wallet. If you have a credit card through The Home Depot, this could be why. 

Have The Home Depot credit card?

Currently, Home Depot offers three different retail credit cards. All three The Home Depot cards are offered through the financial institution, Citi, or CitiBank North America – hence the “THD/CBNA”. THD/CBNA stands for The Home Depot/CitiBank North America.

If you see CBNA on your credit report, other retail cards they issue include Best Buy, L.L. Bean, ExxonMobil and Shell.

Why is THD/CBNA on my credit?

If you have recently applied for a credit card through The Home Depot, it could be on your credit report from a hard credit inquiry, or if you’ve been added as an authorized user on someone else’s account.

Currently, CitiBank offers three different card through The Home Depot:

• The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card
• The Home Depot Commercial Revolving Charge Card
• The Home Depot Commercial Account

Hard and soft credit inquiries

If you have applied for one of these cards, in the application process, you will have authorized the bank to pull a hard inquiry on your credit reports. These can stay on your credit history for up to two years. Download Cambio for a free credit analysis and find out if this hard inquiry is hurting your credit score.

In addition a formal application submission, if you tried to pre-qualify a soft inquiry may be on your credit report. However, a soft inquiry will not affect your credit score.

How do I remove a hard inquiry from my credit report?

If you have recently applied for one of the three different cards through The Home Depot, you will not be able to remove the hard credit inquiry from your credit report. We may be able to help with our credit report management program. Click here to learn more

But, if you did not authorize the credit pull, there are a few steps you can take to protect yourself and your credit. 

1. Proof: Your first line of defense is to contact the company that pulled your credit. Always ask for proof that you authorized the inquiry.
2. Report it: Your next step is to report the suspected fraud to the FTC website, identitytheft.gov. Also, you may want to file a police report if you fear your identity has been stolen.
3. Freeze: Freeze your credit to prevent thieves from abusing your information to qualify for more financial products. To completely freeze your credit, contact each credit bureau separately. If you decide to freeze your credit, you will not be able to be approved for new lines of credit. The damage that has already taken place is not going to be prevented. Instead, it will protect your credit from further attacks while the freeze is in place.
4. Fraud alerts: In addition to contacting the credit bureaus to freeze your credit, you can also request free fraud alerts from them.
5. File a dispute: Dispute any unauthorized inquiries on your credit report. The bureaus are required to investigate all filed disputes and update your score. It will reflect only the accurate information, not the fraudulent inquiries. 

Authorized users

If someone has added you as an authorized user on their The Home Depot credit card, it will show up on your credit reports. You can make purchases on the primary accountholder’s credit card, but are not officially responsible for payments on the card.

All account activity will be reflected through your own credit report. You can be added as an authorized user to help you build credit, as long as the primary cardholder is using the card responsibly. Meaning that if they miss a payment or have a high utilization rate, it could negatively impact your credit.

If you believe you were incorrectly added to someone else’s account, contact the customer service phone number of the card issuer to get it removed.

Don’t recognize an account on your credit report?

Remember to routinely check your credit reports. Do it from the three major financial services that track your credit – aka the three major credit bureaus. Routinely checking your account ensures there are no errors that may impact your credit score. It will protect yourself from identity theft. 

You can get a free copy of your credit reports online at annualcreditreport.com.

The sooner you spot suspicious activity on your reports, the better. This allows you to minimize any damage through these unrecognized credit accounts. Also, you may also want to reach out to a credit repair company to even better protect your credit, if you suspect something is a miss on your credit report.